Regardless of whether they’re baking shows about people who are really good at it, like The Great British Bake-Off, or of people who should be nowhere near an oven, like in Nailed It!, baking competitions are extremely relaxing—and streaming networks are starting to take notice that people really need them right now. So it should come as no surprise that HBO Max is throwing their chef’s cap in the ring, with Baketopia premiering on March 25.
The show is hosted and executive produced by YouTube star Rosanna Pansino, whose recipe book The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook: Sweet Treats for the Geek in All of Us topped the New York Times bestseller list. The gist of the show is bakers have to create viral-worthy desserts to impress Pansino and her “cake council” for a chance to win $10,000.
Nailed It! executive producer Patrick Doody serves as Baketopia’s showrunner, and the series is executive produced by Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher, who are also behind HBO Max’s other competitive reality series, Craftopia. From the looks of the trailer, the set and structure of the show looks a lot like Nailed It’s– just with people who know how to bake. The cakes are pretty impressive, too. There’s even a grilled cheese cake! But it’s going to be tough to compete with the iconic Tom Delonge cake from Bake-Off. We’ll have to see if these desserts actually do become viral sensations.